Michigan Statement

When Valarie could no longer stomach playing against her son, Morris began losing instead to Tonda and Trina, both of whom would earn basketball scholarships to Alabama State . Finally, one day Morris challenged his 62-year-old grandmother, Clara Mae. Valarie insists that Clara Mae let him wan. "You had to know Pete back then to understand why we tortured him," Valarie says. "He was so cocky that the girls in our house made a pact that we'd defeat him or die trying. All that humbling made a gentleman out of him."

By the time he reached his junior year at Northwestern, Peterson was still humble, but he was a player, averaging 22.4 points a game that season. Still, he wasn't heavily recruited because he was perceived as one-dimensional, a gunner. Meanwhile, Cleaves was on his way to becoming Flint's alltime leading career scorer. Cleaves's Northern High won the state title, and Cleaves played in the McDonald's All-American game. He was recruited by elite programs all over the country. As for Peterson , his best scholarship offers came from Michigan State and Minnesota .

When he got to East Lansing , Peterson initially performed as his detractors had figured he would. He was nicknamed Shotgun for his penchant for shooting and his apathy on defense. "I used to call our team together and say, 'Hey, Pete, did you find anybody on campus yet that you can guard?' " Spartans coach Tom Izzo says. "Everybody would laugh, but I was dead serious." A broken thumb sidelined Peterson for what should have been his freshman season in 1995-96, and he wasn't allowed to accompany Michigan State on a trip to the Maui Invitational as punishment for skipping classes. "There were many nights back then when I'd be sitting at home thinking about eating a sandwich or maybe going to shoot in the gym," Peterson recalls. "I always chose the sandwich."

His epiphany occurred on Nov. 29, 1997, during a game against Gonzaga , when Peterson , a southpaw, broke his right wrist dunking an alley-oop pass from Cleaves. Valarie rushed to the locker room and began to commiserate with her son about another lost season, but Morris uncharacteristically barked back that his season wasn't over yet. He returned 18 days later wearing a bulky cast running from his elbow to his fingertips that made it awkward to shoot, so he had to play defense to get any time on the floor. His teammates dubbed him with yet another nickname, the Club, and he began working both ends of the floor with a passion. Later in the season, after Peterson 's cast had been removed and he started regressing into his Shotgun mentality, Izzo twice threatened to have the cast put back on.

Last season Izzo used Peterson as his sixth man to provide a spark off the bench, and Peterson led the Spartans in scoring and became the first player in the Big Ten to be voted first-team all-conference as a reserve. Peterson is so accustomed to life in Cleaves's shadow that when Izzo phoned him last March with the news, Peterson said, "Are you sure, Coach? Did you mean to call Mateen?"

Starting this season without a true point guard and facing a brutal nonconference schedule that included away games against Texas , North Carolina , Kansas , Arizona and Kentucky , Michigan State largely depended on Peterson to camouflage its sputtering offense. Cleaves watched restlessly from the bench, warning Peterson not to play too unselfishly. "It's amazing that when Pete came here, he was all about scoring points, and sometimes this year he's worried too much about getting the other guys involved," Izzo says. "Sometimes I tell him, 'Get selfish, like in your freshman year. Revert.' "

In a 60-58 loss at Kentucky on Dec. 23, Peterson passed up a potential game-winning shot in the final seconds and found Cleaves waiting for him after his postgame shower. "Next time, you take that shot," Cleaves told him. "If we're going to lose, let's lose with you, because you're our man." Three weeks later, with a healthy Cleaves back in the lineup, the Spartans trailed Indiana 62-59 with 15 seconds left. This time Peterson took a pass from Cleaves and nailed the game-tying three-pointer in a game the Spartans won 77-71 in overtime.

Suddenly the dynamics between Peterson and Cleaves have been altered. NBA scouts say Peterson will be chosen ahead of Cleaves in the first round of the June draft. Yet despite his success, Peterson hasn't forgotten his roots. He still keeps the Club on the top shelf of his locker as a reminder to play an all-around game. The guy who once chose the sandwich is now known for sneaking into the Breslin Center to practice free throws at 2 a.m.

Last Saturday, Calhoun , whose Huskies have also faced Arizona , Duke and Syracuse , called Michigan State "easily the best team we've played." As the Spartans mobilize for a return trip to the Final Four, Izzo possesses plenty of weapons with Cleaves and talented role players such as Bell, A.J. Granger, Andre Hutson and the game-breaking freshman, Richardson . But the blueprint is the same as it was in November: mo' Pete. "Pete has progressed the furthest of any player since I came to this school [as an assistant] in 1983," Izzo says. "I've told him, 'If you finish this season strong, you will be my coaching success story for the next 20 years.' "

Morris Peterson finds himself standing on another threshold, eager to lead the way this time.